The rapid advances in the modern technology have paved way for a paradigm shift in the methods and trends in all the sectors of science and technology. So rampant and infectious are the changes in technological trends that what seems the best trend today becomes an obsolete one tomorrow. It’s just a matter of a very short period of time for trends to change.
While this has been the case for science and technology as a whole, it has been no different for information technology or for data centers in particular. The ever amplifying data explosion has led to the development of newer and better data center trends to handle the amount of data.
Here is a closer look at the four data center activities that are currently in use—along with some of the prospective trends that are picking up the pace:
Network Visualization
Network visualization and policy is a growing data center practice at the moment and a promising trend for the future. The reason why this seems promising is because network visualization would be an intelligence addition factored into the network, since it would extract it from the physical hardware of the data center.
According to one of the experts, it helps the client program the network prioritized applications. In other words, it allows clients to rank specific applications which have a greater significance at a particular point in time; then it maximizes and directs the traffic towards that application.
The advantage in this trend is the agility with which one can change the focus to a different app based on the need. The bottom line is enhanced profits through visualization and redirection of traffic based on the demand for a specific app with the help of this trend that integrates network visualization and management.
As you read this, firms like Cisco and VMware are competing for the top spot out there in the market, not to undermine the competition from other firms.
Dynamic Data Centers All The Way
The main idea behind the this trend of having an active/active data center is the optimal utilization of multiple data centers owned by a firm, all at a time, rather than using one as a backup for another. Harnessing the potential of all the data centers to the maximum was a possibility that existed, but it was not unexplored. Now that the costs are falling, it is a trend that can be adopted by several organizations, thus exploiting data centers and cloud computing to generate maximum revenue. This future trend is already beginning to take shape in several companies across the globe.
Solid State
Another prevailing trend in data centers that is surging ahead with each passing day is the ubiquitous use of solid state. There was a time when solid state drives were being used for specific applications that demanded high performance, but that time is long gone.
Companies are beginning to use solid state drives in other areas as well in their data centers, thanks to the falling costs. Now companies can use solid state drives in their storage for just about the same price they would have paid for cheaper spinning discs a year ago. EMC, SolidFire, Nimble and Pure Storage are some of the key vendors to pay heed to as this trend emerges and begins to take data centers by storm.
Expansion In Network Capacity
It hasn’t even been a decade since companies used networking less than 10 Gb in their data centers. Back then, it was hard to imagine that pipeline being full—let alone imagining the necessity for even greater capacity. But what we see today is worlds apart from the scenario that existed just a few years ago.
Now, 40 Gb and 100 Gb are becoming mainstream. It’s the time of change, the time of revolution, and the time of growth with haste unknown!
To sum it up, there are several trends that are being adopted in today’s data centers. In addition to the current activities, there are future trends which seem promising and have the potential to take cloud computing to a new horizon, even to the next level of technology. These trends could possibly spearhead a revolution in the information technology and cloud computing and data analytics sector tomorrow. After all, the happening trend of today could be an obsolete thing of tomorrow—just as the prospective trend of the future could be only a dream of today.
Raju is a freelance writer/web designer who has worked for blogs and websites.
